“You can learn a lot of things from the flowers…,” the bouquet of beauty crooned to Alice in her Wonderland. Isn’t this so true! Our gardens are our wonderland, reaching their colorful pinnacle for we are surrounded by beauty that fills our senses. There’s a wealth of happiness and romance in each park, pot and planter that allows our spirits to bloom.

Our gardens are artful canvas with varied shapes, colors and values to delight and surprise us. Every color of the rainbow blooms: orange marigolds, red poppies, pink hollyhocks, purple pansies all posture and place themselves in a cacophony of color like paint on an artist’s palette. Even myriad of leaves produce a collage of greens that we would need hours to catalog. Verdant we enjoy the varied textures and creative clusters they produce as they support their fair maiden flowers. Shadows too play their romantic part. Violet, blue and gray lay a carpet of mystery under foot while sunlight splashes and sparkles, enhancing all it alights upon.

Far and apart from beauty is also the health that can be found there. Ions are said to spring through the souls of our feet and into our heart as we enjoy one of the few times that we can romp barefoot in the sweet summer grass. Soft, spongy, and electric green grass is one of the loveliest blankets and the easiest garden gift to grow. When outside, don’t just see the grass, meet the grass. Roll, sleep, jump and enjoy the cushy carpet that Mother Nature so abundantly provides, a piece of paradise over every plot of soil.

How about a new and fan-dangled garden? No land? No problem! Out-of-the-garden-box varieties are a 21st century gift as we place our plantings in places less found. A garden wall or even entire garden buildings are the latest expression of a green thumb gone wild. Think “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” for our oases have now gone vertical. Create your own natural wonder as you no longer need acres of horizontal space to go green. The sky’s the new horticultural limit. Your kitchen or patio may be your new growing space as you enjoy fresh herbs plucked as needed from your suspended wall planter.

Strawberries and tomatoes can grow vertically too as they hang from pots or bags and can be picked on a whim while walking by. Concoctions of jams, jellies and salsas are yummy mixtures that can be made from your garden harvests, not to mention muddled wines, fruit punch and sangrias – all elixirs born of the earth.

And just when you thought the bounty was over, think again! Gather ye seed pods while ye may. For after the color and the cooking, after the smelling and the snipping, the garden still serves us in its never ending cycle. One of my favorite things to do is to gather the seed pods as they dry and wither with their promise of yet another bloom. Even in their withered and aged state – the remains of that one gorgeous flower holds the promise of beauty yet again. Gathered and packaged, with hand-written comments of color and type, these savored and wrapped remains make excellent gifts that come from your garden heart to another’s. Once, when in the little historic town of Cambria many years ago, I gifted myself some ruby red hollyhock seeds in a lane. These divine flowers still bloom in my happy home garden every year – a special reminder of a trip once enjoyed and now relived.

So whether it’s a fairy garden fashioned for a wee one, a parkland picnic with friends and family, a roll down a hill, or a stroll alone with a novel meant to be read, remember to notice, seek out and enjoy the various gardens that surround us. These are one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and others, or that simply exist in our world to give us everything we need for our heart’s ease.

Floribunda wishes until next month when we will again contemplate what it means to “live artfully” in our glorious and free world.

Concetta Antico is mother, wife, Tetrachromat, fine artist, instructor, writer and creative muse. Her stunning Tetrachromatic oil on canvas masterpieces reveal her brilliance and super vision and may be viewed at www.ConcettaAntico.com. “LiveArtfully” is a trademark of Concetta Antico and Zenava Inc. Her Salon & Gallery are located at 1920 Fort Stockton Drive, Suite A, Mission Hills, San Diego and are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment. Antico welcomes your creative thoughts, comments and ideas at Muse@ConcettaAntico.com.

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